Wasteful warfare spending

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many strategists suggested the Cold War arms race had bankrupted its economy and caused its downfall. More than 20 years later, it appears some in Washington are driving the U.S. toward a similar fate.

Dollar for dollar, money invested in weapons produces fewer jobs than money invested in education, green jobs, or myriad other industries, according to a study by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst

If Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and the Republicans have their way, the U.S. budget would follow the exact same priorities as the Soviet Union, slashing investment in social programs and employment so we can buy more and more weapons we don't need.

If anything, the money needs to be invested in America's future. I've noticed that California's educational system is No. 47 in the country, which is dismal. We are closing our state parks due to lack of funding. We need to get our state out of the red as well as America. One way to do this is stop wasteful spending on war and spend it on roads, bridges the power grid and other things that have been neglected while we've been off to war instead.